What It Means:

"I'm concerned," Mackanin said. "I had two guys up in the 'pen in that ninth inning [Joely Rodriguez and Pat Neshek]. He's just not getting the ball down the way he did when he was successful. I want to make sure that he gets opportunities, but at the same time, I don't want to let games slip away." Gomez was tagged for a single and a two-run tater in the ninth, but he did wind up making the save. Mackanin added that he "certainly [has] options," in regards to his closer situation. Those would be Hector Neris and Joaquin Benoit, who could both be worth a stash with Gomez already losing his hold on closer duties.

numberFire's models believe Gomez will be able to hold down the job moving forward, and we project him to record a 3.01 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and 15.8 strikeout percentage with 22 saves over the remainder of the year.